A Short History of The Who

Formed in 1964 by Pete Townshend, Keith Moon (one of my favourite drummers), Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle, The Who is yet another well-known British rock band. Their popularity was quickly boosted by pirate radio stations that played their first hit single "I Can't Explain," which was inspired by The Kinks. In 1965, My Generation was released with favourites "The Kids Are Alright" and "My Generation," which was one of the first songs that contained a bass solo.

In 1966, A Quick One was released, but Townshend wanted to make it more cohesive than just a collection of songs. The last track, "A Quick One While He's Away" is their mini rock opera tune. 1967 brought The Who Sell Out, a concept album of an offshore radio station, complete with commercial jingles. This album too had a mini rock-opera called "Rael." From the same album, "I Can See For Miles" became a huge single in the US.

Tommy, their full rock opera album, was released in 1968 and it became a huge landmark in the modern music scene. Tommy tells the tale of a deaf, mute, and blind boy who ends up becoming a leader of a messianic movement. "Pinball Wizard" is a sweet jam off this album. In 1970, The Who became the first rock band to perform in the New York Metropolitan Opera House to perform Tommy in its entirety.

In 1971, The Who put out Who's Next featuring the most excellent "Baba O'Reilly," which is also a great example of early synthesizer use in rock music. Following this was Quadrophenia, the band's second rock opera about a boy named Jimmy who struggles to find his identity.

The Who performing in 1975

In 1975, The Who By Numbers was released and it's fairly dark and a little creepy in contrast with other Who albums. Who Are You was released in 1978 and it was the band's biggest and best selling album. Unfortunately, less than a month after its release, Keith Moon, who is probably most famous for setting his drums on fire, died of a drug overdose. Kenney Jones from Faces replaced Moon. Two albums were produced after the change: Face Dances (1981) and It's Hard (1982) but many fans were not as receptive due to a change in sound. The Who broke up in 1982.

They received a Lifetime Achievement award in 1988 from the British Phonographic Industry and in 2001 from the Grammy Foundation. In 1990, The Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

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For more news about the band: www.thewho.com